A SMART Approach to Safety Training.
Saying something like, “We’re going to improve safety training,” is insufficient. If everything were that simple and quick! This is where SMART objectives are useful. Learn how to implement SMART goals to raise the level of safety in your company by reading on.
Assume that our objective is to enhance worker safety instruction in four high-risk areas: lift safety, tool safety, forklift operator, and eye injury prevention. How would you actually do this using SMART goals?
A SMART goal is:
Particular
Quantifiable
Responsible
Fair enough
On-time
How to Implement SMART in Safety Training
Let us now rephrase the objective of enhancing safety training to read, “We will attain 100% completion of safety training in the four safety courses we currently offer by March 1.” Whoa, that’s already a big improvement!
None of the 40 workers had received training in the high-risk areas of lift safety, forklift operator, eye injury prevention, or tool safety as of January 1. Where do you begin with the goal of having everyone trained by March 1st?
Setting SMART goals for each area is the first step. Next, drill down with some targeted inquiries. For instance:
How will the workers be trained in each of these areas?
Is software the best option?
Will their training require us to set up computers? Can we use their mobile devices for this?
Is it preferable to conduct any training in a group setting?
Will resources be required after hours?
Will we allow our staff to practice?
After achieving your SMART objectives, the safety training program ought to get underway.
Let’s assume that by February 1st, between thirty and thirty-five personnel have completed the tool safety, eye injury prevention, and lift safety training and that your attendance rates are positive. However, just ten workers have finished the forklift safety course. Thus, why isn’t the training program for forklift operators moving forward at the same pace? Now is the time to do some further investigation by dissecting the issue and formulating some viable fixes.
Three possible explanations come to mind for why the facility might not have been able to complete its forklift safety training thus far:
Both a test and driver practice are necessary.
Practice with the forklift isn’t always possible.
Department managers are now ignorant about how to conduct tests.
These are a few workable ways to deal with the problem:
Establish boundaries and deadlines for forklift practice based on the times when forklifts are not actually required for commercial purposes.
Discuss with supervisors the requirements for forklift testing.
It becomes clearer what further actions could be required to enhance safety training generally by addressing roadblocks that might be preventing the forklift training program.
Assessing SMART objectives
After SMART goals have been established, it’s critical to track your advancement. Additionally, since you’ll be able to cite concrete evidence of your efforts to enhance workplace safety, you’ll have an easier time answering questions regarding safety and health from business leadership.
You could track the following leading indicators by concentrating on Management Support:
The proportion of supervisors who participate in the required safety and health training for employees
How often does senior management bring up safety and health topics for discussion each month?
Average response rate to survey questions about employees’ opinions of management’s commitment to safety and health
The percentage of worker-reported risks or issues that employers addressed within 48 hours by taking corrective action (in relation to the total number of such reports)
What is the average time interval between a worker reporting a concern or hazard and management acknowledging the report?
The amount of budgetary line items pertaining to safety and the proportion of them that are completely financed annually
How often preventive equipment maintenance procedures are started and finished on time
How many hours after an incident do investigations take to begin?
How many hours after an incident do investigations take to finish?
percentage of incident inquiries that look into the root cause
percentage of finished daily, weekly, and monthly inspections
the proportion of inspections that involve a follow-up check to make sure the hazard has been managed
Worker attendance rates at hazard recognition and control training divided by the number of trainings offered to employees
percentage of employees that complete required training on time
The proportion of incident investigations where the number of workers who report understanding the training received is lower than the number of workers who are trained to identify and report a danger or near miss.
the percentage of improvement between pre- and post-training evaluation scores
Maintaining SMART goals can be facilitated by monitoring this kind of data.
EHS Software makes it simpler to measure and achieve SMART targets.
Utilize KPA’s insights and reporting tools to examine your results and implement remedial and preventative measures. Schedule email reports to be delivered to you and your team on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The reports should include recent reports, unfinished business, status updates on training, inspections, and more.
Provide your safety team with the resources they need to monitor and measure students’ progress and retention in general. Create an onboarding training program that will help your new hires become productive as soon as possible. Observe training completion rates and pursue incomplete training.
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